CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

[rukusENT]

Hi to all my fellow detailers.
I am new here and hope I learn from you guys!

I have a corolla 04 and purchased a cf hood and trunk from VIS (visracing.com) about 2 yrs ago.

It finally started to fade/haze on some area. I just cleaned my car and decided to use DC #2 and the gold glass liquid wax. I know it didn't help BUT I want my CF to have that wet look. Unfortunately, the fade/haze irritates me! Please tell me how I should remove this. I heard that I should use a 1500 wet sand and then use a rubber compound, buff it and then wax. I'm afraid that If i use the wet sand, I might scratch it even more.

These are some pixes I took to show:

This is a close up of my hood, you can see the fade spot.




Again, look at the far left near the headligh:


This is close up of my rear visor:


Another one:

[Murr1525]

Re: CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

You might want ot read throug hsome of these links first, to get a good feel for the paint care process. ( I assume your hood is clear coated?)

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle
Step 1 Wash
Step 2 Clean
Step 3 Polish
Step 4 Protect
Step 5 Maintain

Suggested Products for Taking Care of a New Car

What it Means to Remove a Scratch

How To Remove Swirls By Hand

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

Rotary vs. PC vs. Regular Orbital Buffer

Recommended Products - G100a Dual Action Polisher

Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line

1986 Ford Bronco II - Extreme Makeover

Each one, teach one... Ferrari Fiorano 355 F1 Spider

[Derrick]

Re: CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

Ok well your hood seams to be in ok shape compared to what i have seen, To be honest i think wetsanding is over kill for the defects that need to be removed. I would go with a product like ScratchX if working by hand or #80 Speed Glaze if using a DA. Remember you always want to use the least agressive method first.

[rukusENT]

Re: CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

I don't have a DA yet so either sand it or use any abbrasive chemical.

murr1525: thank you for posting that infos. really, I don't think it will help since I've tried those steps before. I think I have to either sand it or get it reclear coat? (which means it nees to be sanded also)

[Murr1525]

Re: CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

You may have posted the pics after I answered...

It almost looks like the clear coat may be seperating?

[yalerd]

Re: CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

I don't know if it's me but I can't see the pictures well
Could be clear coat failure but I really can't see them well to tell

Read what Murr said, and give it a try to see if you can solve your problem, if you can, take some better pictures in the sun

[rukusENT]

Re: CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

^hmm it should be okay..

Anyways, I saw this thread: There's some links on the bottom when you scroll down. http://forums.evolutionm.net/archive.../t-159290.html

The person who drives a lexus wet sand it and then clearcoat and then wetsand it again.. i guess i should try this on my rear visor since it's not that big of a size!

[yalerd]

Re: CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

Maybe this is what you are experiencing.
Looks at this link and compare, maybe not as bad as the pictures (like I said, really can't tell because of the pictures, poor light, sorry)

The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

[rukusENT]

Re: CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

^thank you for the link.

HMM, not sure if this apply to carbon fiber.

[roushstage2]

Re: CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

To me, it looks like the gel coat is separating from the fibers. How long has it been on the car and what brand is it?

[Derrick]

Re: CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

To me, it looks like the gel coat is separating from the fibers. How long has it been on the car and what brand is it?

After taking a closer look at the pics i think they may be correct.

[roushstage2]

Re: CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

Just re-reading, I see it is a 2 yr old VIS. How has it been maintained, if at all, over the years (honestly)?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

We edited your first message and hit the ENTER key after your sentences that included a picture following them. By hitting the ENTER key after your text and then inserting a photo, you force the photo to show up under the text instead of all wacky. This little tip will help you for all the posts you make on any forum for the rest of your posting life.

I have a corolla 04 and purchased a cf hood and trunk from VIS (visracing.com) about 2 yrs ago.

It finally started to fade/haze on some area. I just cleaned my car and decided to use DC #2 and the gold glass liquid wax.

In the new car world, Cars Sales People tell consumers that they don't need to wax their new car because it has a clear coat. As thought this is somehow a miracle coating that never needs any care.

In the Carbon Fiber world, we'll just guess most manufactures and the sales people don't tell you anything as far as how to maintain the appearance and lifespan of Carbon Fiber components.

Truth is nothing gets better with time, not even you and I. This means you need to take care of not only the car paint, the tires, the vinyl, leather plastic, and everything else that is used to make up a car but also Carbon Fiber components.

We don't as a practice tell people to use the SEARCH button on this forum and we're not going to now, but your questions and problems have come up in the past and we've fixed a lot of carbon fiber components on cars that have come to our Saturday classes.

By hand you can use ScratchX, Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner and even M80 Speed Glaze to remove oxidation. Then follow this with a pure polish unless you're using the M80 Speed Glaze which already has polishing oils in it and and polyester coatings as well as epoxy coatings tend to like our polishing oils especially after they've begun to oxidize.

Then apply some wax, if it were mine I would use NXT Tech Wax.

Here's some more information just from doing a search using the two words Carbon Fiber.


NOTE: Most of the pictures below show swirl removal, so keep this in mind, doing the same process and using the same products that you would use to remove swirls will remove oxidation and haze.



Begin the copy and paste....


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From this thread,

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2473

From my experience, there are two types of carbon fiber hoods and other components.

Clear coated
Non-clear coated.

* The clear coated components offer U.V. protection.
* The non-clear coated components offer no U.V. protection.

I believe the reason for this is because for whatever the reason, they are unable to put U.V. protection ingredients into polyester and epoxy resins?

Also, if it were mine, I would do a simple test with any Meguiar's paint cleaner, cleaner/polish, or even a cleaner/wax like ColorX and see if a couple of well applied application don't remove it?

ScratchX would be an easy product to test on it, and so would Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From this thread,

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2633

One of the members brought his BMW with a brand new custom paint job. The finish was dull, hazy and filled with swirls.







The detailing clinics at Meguiar's are truly hands-on clinics. We do our best to teach the skills you need to get great results the first time.

Below, the owner of this BMW with the brand new custom paint job is going to learn how to fix the problem using his hands with a few quality Meguiar's products.

First up, ScratchXby hand.





After he applies the ScratchX and works each application in, he then removes it with a Meguiar's Ultimate Wipe microfiber polishing cloth.





Next, the owner applies an application of Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish, works it in well, and then removes it. Meguiar's polishes do not need to dry before removing.





After the polish has been removed, an application of Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax is applied, worked in well and allowed to dry for 10-15 minutes.



After it has cured, it is gently removed using a microfiber polishing cloth.




The car is then backed out of the garage for inspection...




Here are the results.

Remember, this was all done by hand and it was to my knowledge the first time this person had ever used any of these products.





Not bad, definitely a dramatic improvement from where he started.


After learning the techniques for getting good results by hand, we then taught him how to use the G-100 Dual Action Polisher to go over the entire front clip and put a show car shine worthy of his new paint job...

Here are those results...





This young gentleman now has skills that will last him a lifetime to not only maintain his own cars, but he is now enabled to help his friends and family when they run into problems with their car's finish.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From this thread,

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6025

The power of Meguiar's Diminishing Abrasives







Mason's hood showing before and after due to Meguiar's diminishing abrasive technology together with Meguiar's ESP Technology








True Condition
(Actually, this is after we clayed it which did remove some surface oxidation)



After using M80 Speed Glaze with it's unique diminishing abrasives to remove the swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation T(he below photo has been cropped out of the original, but in no other way modified or resized)








~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From this thread,

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16430

Horrific swirls in this Carbon Fiber Hood provides Meguiar's with the opportunity to show people how to remove swirls the right way the first time...

[rukusENT]

Re: CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

oh wow.. so let me put this into a simplest form:

-scratch x (on the faded area)
-dc #2
-wax

so when i do this step, the fade will FADE right? hehe

I have these (fortunately) & i will let play with it today..

since i don't have a DA, i guess elbow grease is next. Mike, how long should I work on the faded area?

Thanx again for all the people that posted and helped me out to resolve this issue!

[Mike Phillips]

Re: CARBON FIBER... fade/haze question?

since i don't have a DA, i guess elbow grease is next. Mike, how long should I work on the faded area?

Take about a tablespoon of ScratchX and apply it to the faded area for about a minute. Work on about a 8" to 12" section. Keep the test section small so you give it plenty of attention.

Apply and work ScratchX 3 times to this same section.

"Put some passion behind your applicator pad"

That means use some Elbow Grease, but not so much you put scratches in at the same time.

Now wipe all the ScratchX off and apply some of the DCP, use about a teaspoon. Apply, work in and then wipe off.


Note: Don't let either the ScratchX or the Polish dry. Just work the products and wipe off the excess.

At this point the dull haze should be gone. Wax will take your results to a higher level and protect your work. If the area doesn't look any better then something else is wrong and let us know.

Best of luck....